Should've Known Better
by writergirrrl22
Summary: AU as if Not Ready to Make Nice never happened. Clare extracts a little good old fashioned revenge on Jake! Inspired by the song "I Should've Known Better" by Nickle Creek.


Jake walked in the door. "I'm home," he called, to no one in particular. No one answered, so he figured he was alone. He was heading up the stairs when he noticed Clare and someone else sitting on the couch in the living room. They weren't talking, and she was leaning back on the sofa, with one hand resting on the arm rest. He wanted to ask her what was going on, who she was with, but then he remembered that it wasn't his place anymore. They were siblings now, so he continued up the stairs.

"Clare, what the hell is this, where's all my stuff?" Jake yelled, walking into the kitchen where she was sitting at a bar stool. She was all alone, whoever she'd been with before had clearly left. He held up a folded letter. He had found it on his bare floor, in the middle of the room where his bed should have been. He quickly picked it up, in a panic about his missing stuff. Everything was gone, even the clothes in his closet and the posters on his wall. He ripped the letter open. There were only five words written in very neat, cursive handwriting that he recognized immediately. "You should've known better (;" was all it said, except for a signiture of "~C."

"Clare, I'm serious, where is my stuff?" He asked when she simply sipped her mug of cold coffee, the only kind of coffee that Clare liked, instead of answering him. "Is this some kind of sick practical joke? Are you getting back at me for kissing Ali, breaking up with you, getting close with Jenna or anything like that? Because that was months ago!"

Clare carefully set her mug on the counter, and looked up into his eyes. Jake was taken aback by how much anger he could see in them, despite her calm facade.

"Do you remember what you said to me when you dumped me?" She asked innocently, while shuffling through yesterday's mail.

Jake thought for a moment, and then it clicked.

_"Clare, you should have known better than to get into a relationship with me." _

That was the last thing he had ever said about the subject of their relationship, and he'd only said it because he knew blaming her would make her stop trying to save it.

"It's been a long time coming," Clare said. She finally broke eye contact with him, then continued, "I feel like I've been to hell and back these last few months, but I have finally realized that your love meant trouble from the day we met."

"Clare..." Jake started. Clare paused and looked at him, waiting for him to continue, but they both knew he wouldn't.

"You know, I really should have seen this coming," She said. "Love like this is always bound to fail. And the things you said to me made my heart sink into my stomach with pain. I was heartbroken, I couldn't believe the way you were treating me after everything we'd been through..." She trailed off.

Jake sat down in the stool across the counter from her, trying to make eye contact again.

"I am so sorry for everything I said, I didn't mean to put the blame on you. I was just freaked, we can make this better," he said, trying to grab her hand, but she yanked it away and stood up.

"Some things you just can't take back, Jake." The way she said his name was like it was something so disgusting it left a bad taste in her mouth.

"I realize now, we were never meant to be together," she said. "I spent a lot of time in this kitchen, thinking...and I realize that even if you begged, pleaded, and groveled at my feet, I wouldn't even think about taking you back. I don't know how we ever called what we had 'love', but I do know that I don't want it anymore. You are heartless and cruel, and you'll do anything to blame anyone but yourself."

She walked around the counter and stood right in front of him. Because of the stool he was still sitting in, she was directly at eye level. She got real close to his face, so close that their noses were almost touching.

"If you want your things,"she said, pausing to look him up and down in disgust, "they're on the front step."

Jake half wondered how she had gotten them out there so quickly from the time he walked in, to the time he came back downstairs, but he didn't really care about that, because at the same moment he heard lightning strike. He looked out the window and saw none other than Eli standing just inside the back door, rain pouring outside. _How long has he been there?_ Jake wondered.

"Ready to go?" Eli asked. Clare said nothing, just walked away from Jake, and out the back door. Of course Eli magically had a black umbrella ready for her. Jake watched as they walked into the storm together. He sighed, wondering how he let all of this get so out of hand as he walked to the front of the house to check on his stuff.

"Shit!" He exclaimed. Clare had severely under-exaggerated when she said his things were on the front step. What she should have said was that his things were on the front step, and also scattered all over the lawn.

**Hope you all like this! I'm a sucker for revenge stories, and I'm not really a fan of anyone who takes Clare away from Eli (;  
****Anyway, please review and let me know what you think! I might continue if yall like it enough (:**

**Also this is under Eli & Clare because I'm not sure anyone who is looking for stories about Jake & Clare would take too kindly to this lol (:**


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